


Black Water

by Vultoni_and_Arnaera



Series: VnA’s Fic Dump - HSC Edition [4]
Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Attempted Murder, Introspection, M/M, No Beta, Secret Relationship, The Betrayed Ending | TB (Henry Stickmin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vultoni_and_Arnaera/pseuds/Vultoni_and_Arnaera
Summary: "It wasn't supposed to end like this."A coup, a hidden love, and a vengeful man. It's a delicate balance. Any shift one way or the other would bring it all crashing down.Right is left in the shattered remains when it inevitably falls apart.
Relationships: Right Hand Man/Henry Stickmin
Series: VnA’s Fic Dump - HSC Edition [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002828
Comments: 7
Kudos: 60





	Black Water

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a reference to the song Black Water by Of Monsters and Men. It's one of my favorite songs and ever since I got into this fandom, I've associated it with The Betrayed/Revenged endings. 
> 
> Cross-Posted on Tumblr at vultoni-and-arnaera.
> 
> Feedback of any kind is always appreciated!

The dark water churns endlessly below. It's black as night, frigidly cold, and unforgiving. Falling into it would seem like being swallowed by a living void.

Right can't help the sick feeling in his chest as he stares down into it.

He wants more than anything to go down and search. There was always a chance of survival, no matter how slim. There's no guarantee he's gone.

But he can't leave the airship. And watching the churning waves pass underneath, knowing he's getting farther and farther away from what would be Henry's watery grave makes him want to scream.

Leaving now and flying down to the surface of the water would surely catch Reginald's attention. He'd ask too many questions and may even discover the one thing Right didn't want him to know.

But the inaction was killing him. He should be searching, trying to find any sign of Henry's unlikely survival. Even though the odds were against it, Henry has always been exceptionally lucky.

If anyone could survive a fall like that, it would be him.

But if he survived, then what? He'd never come back to the Toppat Clan. If he was smart, he'd stay far away from it and the man who tried to kill him.

That would mean staying away from him, too, but if that kept him safe then so be it. He clearly couldn't trust Reginald with his life anymore.

Not when he was the reason Henry was gone.

Right felt the sick feeling grow. He'd been in his quarters, his mind shut down as his cybernetics charged. The mechanism that kept him from processing the necessary pain of charging had once been a blessing. Now it had cursed him more than any other part of his cyborg existance.

It kept him from being there for Henry when he needed him the most.

If Right had been conscious, he could have stopped Reginald, could have kept him from murdering the love of his life.

He knew about the feud between Henry and Reginald. For all that they tried to appear cordial during official business and in public spaces, there was a very noticeable tension between them. That was to be expected. After all, Henry overthrew Reginald, stole the leadership of the Toppat Clan out from under him. It was expected that Reginald would be at least a little bitter.

But there was more than just bitterness in his friend's heart. Reginald hated Henry with a burning passion that rivaled hellfire, hated him with every single atom in his body. He wanted him dead from the moment he was sworn in as chief.

Right should have been the same, probably even should have hated him more. And in the beginning he did. Henry had mangled him during their fight on the bridge, left him in such a state that his only hope for survival had been living as a half-man half-machine amalgamation.

So yes, he'd hated Henry at first, too. But somewhere along the way something changed.

It wasn't some grand moment, some life-or-death circumstances that altered his perceptions, but a thousand small details that changed how he saw Henry.

It was seeing him genuinely trying to connect with others in the clan. It was stumbling upon him working late into the night to understand what was expected of his new position. It was witnessing him appoint Reginald as his right hand because, despite the obvious animosity between them, it was the best thing for the Toppat Clan.

These, and hundreds of other small moments, opened his eyes to the truth.

The image of Henry he'd built in his mind was nothing more than a caricature to direct his hatred at. His mind had jumped on every little failing, every minute flaw as proof that the man who had nearly killed him was undeniably evil and monstrous. He had to be, right?

But life was never black and white like that. The situation they'd found themselves in was painted in grayscale tones. There was no true good or evil side, just the messiness in between.

When he faced down Henry on that bridge, he'd seen himself as the undeniably righteous party. He was the last line of defense between his chief, his closest friend, and this violent intruder. What he wanted and why didn't matter because he was threatening Reginald, and it was his job to stop him.

It only occurred to Right months later to try and get the other side of the story.

Normally he wouldn't bother. An enemy was an enemy, only to be dispatched and then disposed of. But after this one became a semi-permanent fixture, Right had to make the decision to at least try to know him, to know his reasoning. 

Learning the nature of his infiltration wasn't earth shattering, but it did put things in perspective. Backed into a corner by the military, Henry had done the only thing he could. He'd played along until he could find a way to tip the odds in his favor.

When they had faced off, it had been a conflict between two people who were just trying to survive and protect what was important to them. It was between his duty and Henry's freedom. It didn't get much more gray than that.

A bit of understanding went a long way, enough to build the beginnings of a friendship. Right didn't expect how much he'd come to enjoy his company.

He didn't expect to fall in love.

But that was just how life went sometimes. It was unexpected and messy, strange and profound, full of ups and downs, and always wholly unpredictable. You learned to navigate the twists and turns and take what life threw your way. To be successful was to be adaptable.

To his shared affections, that meant finding solace in the one man who he should hate more than any other.

To his position as assistant to the right hand, that meant hiding their burgeoning relationship.

Because there was no way Reginald would approve of it. He was still blinded by his hatred, still only seeing Henry as the fiendish usurper that Right had looked past.

Until Reginald realized that Henry was different than the demon he saw him as, they would have to hide. Hide and keep Henry safe from Reginald's schemes.

They thought they could do it, that between the two of them they could handle any attempts on his life.

It was with growing despair that Right realized they were wrong. He'd awoken from his pseudo-sleep to Reginald's proclamations that he'd finally done it, finally killed the monster that had taken everything from them.

He barely managed to keep a straight face then, to keep the dread and heartbreak from showing.

Henry had been his everything, and now he was gone.

He wanted him back, safe in his arms. He wanted to feel Henry's warmth again.

The ruthless water below had taken it from him, robbed Henry of his warmth and life. Right can't help the few stray tears that fell from his human eye.

_I should've been there. I should've saved you._

The door opens behind him, and he hears the last person he wants to see right now call his name.

"Right? What are you doing out here?"

He hears footsteps against the wood flooring as Reginald walks up beside him. 

"Aren't you getting cold? It's snowing."

Right carefully doesn't answer. He doesn't know what he'll say if he tries to speak to Reginald right now.

There's a gloved hand on his shoulder. What is supposed to be a comforting touch feels cruel and cold.

"It's over, Righty. It's finally over."

He can't help but hang his head. It wasn't supposed to end like this.

_It is over, isn't it?_

_I failed you._

He lets Reginald lead him back inside, off the balcony Henry was dropped from.

_I'm sorry Henry._

The rolling black waves are behind him now, then lost from sight as the door shuts behind them. But he knows he'll see them again in his nightmares.

_I'm so, so sorry._

**Author's Note:**

> I've had rightmin on the brain for the past week and this happened.


End file.
